NEW PORT RICHEY — Every holiday season for the past couple of decades, Richey Suncoast Theatre's Christmas show has been a locally written show with a story.

Sometimes, it has featured the harridan Mrs. Artiluke, head of the CAVE-dwellers (Citizens Against Virtually Everything), a unabashed parody of homeowners associations and their attempts to spoil Christmas.

Other times, it has been stories about Santa Claus or the North Pole. In 2013, it was a touching story about how theater executive director Marie Skelton is coping with the death of her late husband, Charlie, through the love and support of the RST family. The Skeltons are largely credited with saving the theater when it seemed to be on its last legs back in the late 1990s.

This year, RST is trying something altogether different: an old-fashioned variety show, with a cast of 28, ages 6 and up, singing, dancing and performing monologues related to the season.

Some of the 24 segments, such as Don't Eat a Poinsettia and Christmas with a Monkey, will feature the 6- to 8-year-olds: Chava Schuster, Nicholas Rindone, Dylan Lemmons, Kylie Hartzog, LilyAnn Ingersoll, Angelina Sylvia and Joie Robert.

Others, such as Marshmallow World and Bob Dylan's Christmas Island, will feature the 9- to 11-year-olds: Iliana Fotopolis, Toni Gihirardo, Robert Lischak, Courtney Lischak and Amaya Beebe.

The teen group features Mica Defalco, Angelina Fotopolis, Jimmy Tolbert, Angelina D'Augustino, Paige Cetnor and Trina Brown, and their numbers include A Christmas Song from Elf, the Musical, and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

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The Tampa Bay theater scene is vibrant one, with American Stage, Jobsite Theater, Freefall Theater and other local acting companies. This is your source for theater reviews and news about local theater companies and touring Broadway shows at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Ruth Eckerd Hall and the Mahaffey Theater.